10 Scrapped Video Game Movies We're Still Dying To See

We're often so busy complaining about the terrible video game movie adaptations that have been made, that we forget about the good ones still on the horizon...as well as those potentially brilliant projects which are suddenly scrapped out of nowhere. Hollywood is an industry crying out for some new creative juices, and yet, they still seem rather reluctant to fully give in to the video game medium as they have comic books, likely because most video game adaptations to date have been inane, nonsensical flops which are either too reverent to the game to the point of lunacy, or not faithful enough. Script is key, and 9 times out of 10, these movies fail for that reason. But what about those brilliant, inherently cinematic video games which would so clearly make for great movies? We've had to sit by and watch as they languish in development Hell or, in more dignified terms, are flat-out cancelled, as studio executives essentially flush potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue down the toilet. Though these movies will likely never see the light of day, we can dream, and they absolutely should get made...

10. Gears of War

Gears of War so very nearly became a movie, and given how innately cinematic it is as a series - what with those brilliantly-directed adverts - it's tremendously frustrating. Underworld and Die Hard 4's Len Wiseman was attached to direct with a sizable budget of $150 million, what would apparently have served as a prequel to the video game series, detailing how Marcus Fenix came to be the gruff-voiced, scar-clad badass we know him as today. Rumours persisted that Wiseman's wife, Kate Beckinsale, was to star in some capacity, and given her near-ubiquity in the man's work, it was much to our collective chagrin. Still, the project never materialised due to New Line wanting to slash the budget to $100 million through rewrites. Since 2010, New Line has been moving to slash the budget further while seeking another director, making it clear that this likely won't happen. I'd love to see this get made properly, but a low-budget Gears of War movie? You can keep that.

Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.

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